Security Officer Network

The Dreaded Early Morning Phone Call

--> The Security Agency Must Recognize The Warning Signs of Officer Burnout

It's the small security company owner's nightmare - the early morning phone call from one of his best clients. The client is enraged. The night before, during third shift, one of the company's officers got into an unnecessary confrontation and made a bad arrest of one of the client's tenants. The tenant has already contacted a lawyer as has the client. The client's lawyer has advised them to immediately discharge the security agency in an attempt to mitigate possible liability.

Faced with the lost of a great client the agency must now find a way to replace the income and find openings for the displaced officers who now need another post to work. A lawsuit will likely name the security agency and risk raising its general liability insurance rates. A great client reference has been lost and the company may even need to reprint its marketing materials after removing the reference's information.

How can a security company owner prevent this nightmare scenario from ever playing out?

The security agency must appreciate the conditions into which the officer is placed. The officer may be placed into an ongoing battle with various nefarious elements some of which would not hesitate to do physical harm to the officer. This is especially true when the client's facility is an apartment complex located within a crime ridden neighborhood. Day in and day out the officer must deal with these same elements. Unlike police officers the security officer is embedded into the specific property thus not allowing him to escape from those with whom he engages in constant conflict. These are some of the most difficult venues within which to work as the officer potentially deals with the same troublemakers during each and every shift.

In these conditions the officer may wear down and lose control of his good judgement. During a particularly long shift he may become emotionally involved in a security incident and overreact.

Security agencies can prevent these scenarios through the deployment of several strategies.

The officer's attitude will tend to reflect the ethics of the organization. When the agency's ownership either become lax, disengaged and out of touch with the on-the-ground reality then the officer has no guidance. Or when the ownership sets an aggressive, almost gang-like, us vs. them mentality against the troublemakers they run the risk of encouraging the officer's over reaction.

Ownership must engage and understand the climate the officer faces during each shift.

They must train the officer to establish a firm and consistent enforcement of policy standard. But, they must also avoid allowing the us vrs. mentality to creep in. When the officer expresses frustration with the troublemakers the company should diagnose the cause for his concern. His frustrations and concerns must be heard out and circumstances changed as necessary.

After the officer's concerns have been evaluated, and found to have merit, the company must bring them to the attention of the client. Should the client not take action to evict those who are creating problems then the agency must consider whether or not to continue providing service to the client. The client may ask that the officer and the agency start the paperwork process to document each infraction. This is the right approach and it is incumbent upon the agency to ensure this process takes place.

For sure, the officer's valid concerns should never be ignored. If he is left to fend for himself he might take the unfortunate action described above simply because he has been placed into a corner. Or, he might simply avoid all security incidents and tend to avoid addressing those situations that should be dealt with.

At times, even though the proper steps are being taken, the officer may demonstrate signs of wearing down and becoming frustrated or may continually elevate unmerited concerns. These warning signs must be recognized and acted on. From time to time the officer should be reassigned to other posts. This variety allows him to escape the same old environment and provides a refreshing break. Perhaps on occasion this reassignment should be made permanent allowing the officer to receive training in other venues and expand his skill set.

These are just a few of the techniques the security agency owner should take to prevent that dreaded early morning phone call.

JW Murphey

Murphey started a private security agency at the age of 19. He enjoys writing articles to assist those in the security industry with the licensing and training process. He can be contacted @JW.Murphey@securityofficerhq.com.

SecurityOfficerHQ.com is the exclusive provider of this free 72 page guide. It features just about everything you need to know before taking the exam and includes The Professional Security Officer eCourse. You may get your copy for
free right now only at SecurityOfficerHQ.com! Submit your name and email to receive your copy via email or click here to learn more about this guide.